Kingdom of Dublin

The Kingdom of Dublin, also known as Dyflin, was a Viking kingdom in Ireland which existed from 853 to 1170, with Dublin as its capital. Vikings had raided Ireland for years, but, in the winter of 840-841, they over-wintered in Ireland for the first time at Lough Neagh, and it was not long before they began to settle in Ireland. The Viking raider Amlaib Conung founded the kingdom in 853, bringing in Norwegian settlers to colonize the area around the Black Pool; it became the most important of their well-defended coastal bases and housed the largest slave market in the British Isles. Over time, the settlers in Dublin became increasingly Gaelicized, syncretizing Norse and Gaelic cultures. In 902, the Vikings were briefly forced out of Dublin, resettling in Scotland; however, in 917, Sihtric Caech and Gofraid ua Imair reconquered Dublin in 917 and re-established their kingdom. In 988, Mael Sechnaill mac Domnaill again drove the Vikings out of Dublin, but this, too, was short-lived. In the mid-11th century, the Kingdom of Leinster began exerting influence over Dublin, and, in 1171, the Normans of England conquered Ireland and killed the last Viking ruler of Dublin, Ascall mac Ragnaill.